Whether you’re decorating your walls or you’re just an artist trying out this spray-painting thing. Either way, finding splotches and sloshes of paint on your furniture and household appliances is a complete buzzkill on your hard work and satisfaction. These pesky little things are hard to get rid off from plastic surfaces due to the fact that both are made from similar chemicals.
How To Remove Spray Paint From Plastic With Household Items? First pour a little amount of solvents like vegetable oil, nail polish remover, or a soapy solution on the paint spill. Let it sit for a couple of minutes before rubbing it off with a rug. If your problem still isn’t solved then its probably because the paint has hardened or has a thick coating. In this case, you would probably have to use a paint scraper and using the solvents mentioned to remove any residue left after scrapping the hard paint.
The following are the material you may require to get this job done,
- Dish Soap
- Vegetable Oil
- Nail Polish Remover
- Paint Scraper
- Rugs or Paper towels
It’s always best to tend to these painting mishaps as soon as possible. If the paint is fresh, then a simple old way of using soap and warm water should do the trick. Warm water helps to loosen the layers of paint from the surface, thus making it easy to remove.
Just apply some warm soapy water solution with a clean rag or paper towel. Now rub the rag over the paint splatter to remove the unwanted finish from the plastic surface. Once the paint is gone, use a dry rag to clean it up.
If the soapy solution didn’t do the trick, then the chances are that the paint spill has hardened and became stubborn. Remember one of your chemistry class principle “Like dissolves like”? We bring in our next weapon, vegetable oil. Vegetable oil can help soften and lift the paint. It helps weaken the bonds of the paint and break it down.
Put some vegetabe oil on a clean rag and allow it to soak into the spray paint. After a while start scrubbing the paint spot with a rag until it eventually comes off.
Other commonly found oils like olive oil can also be used to remove the paint from the plastic surface even though it might be not as effective as vegetable oil.
Well if the previous method was a complete bust too then, it’s time to bring out the big guns. Nail polish removers have acetone as a primary active ingredient. Acetone is a powerful solvent and can be used for both oil-based and latex-based paint; to remove uncured paint from a wide variety of surfaces.
Pour the remover on to the painted spot in a way that it covers the entire spilt area. Leave this on for about five to ten minutes, to let the paint dissolve and soften. After a while, take a dry rag and start rubbing. Hopefully, this time, the paint will come right off.
This is not an ideal method and can damage the surface. You should only try this method if the paint has thickened and hardened so much that the above techniques don’t work. In that case, you want to get a scraper, knife, or a razor blade, and start scraping the paint off carefully.
Be careful so as not to scrape and scratch up the actual plastic and do much more damage. This is exactly why something less extreme should be your first try.
Here are some pointers to follow to make sure that the job is done correctly:
- Overusing nail polish remover can sometimes melt or discolour the plastic. So, make sure to use it 2 or 3 times only.
- Make sure to use the scrapper with caution so as to not hurt yourself or anybody around you.
- Dispose the scrapped paint immediately as it is a hazardous waste.
To avoid over spraying, cover all the furniture and household items in the surrounding area with drop cloth or newspaper.
If you’re spray painting something small, then just contain the overspray by setting the piece inside a cardboard box.
Another way that you can easily avoid this mishap is not to swing an arc. It’s the most natural motion to swing your arm, but it will result in spray painting the entire area around the intended target. The correct way is to move the can parallel to the surface, concentrating on the straight, steady motion.
Using a spray can grip. Using a spray can grip can,
- Give you more control overspray cans
- Cuts down mess
- Reduces user fatigue.
Spray handle attachments are an excellent accessory for anyone using spray or aerosol cans for an extended time.
If you want, then check this spray gun on amazon which I found to be quite handy!
FINAL VERDICT
These were just some of the most commonly used techniques to remove spray paint from a plastic surface using just your everyday household items. You may need to perform them a couple of times to get it right. Consideration should also be given to the items you have in your home to determine which method would work best for you in removing spray paint for plastic.
It can be dispiriting to find colourful splatter where it does not belong. Removing spray paint from any plastic material is stressful, but it teaches you a very valuable lesson – don’t let it happen again. The best way to clean a piece of plastic from spray paint is to cover it up properly the first time.
If you are worried about damaging the material, just remember that all it takes to do it right is choosing the most appropriate solvent and vegetable oil, nail polish remover or a soapy solution is perfectly safe to use. Painting (especially spray painting) is understandably quite a tough job. Even the master DIYers make mistakes and remedying that is never easy, especially if it’s plastic that got compromised.
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